Winning votes:
[X] Ask the Honored Elder about the land your clan governs, especially what it was like back in his early days.
[X] Spend more time with Meiling (???)
[X] Spend more time with Xiaoli (???)
Chapter 1.4 – A Mostly Ordinary Adolescence (Part 4)
With two months left until his sixteenth birthday, Shaohuo decided to spend more time with Meiling and Xiaoli. Once he began cultivating, he would likely be too busy to visit Xiaoli much until they left to join the Abyssal Spirit Sect. And after that, he wouldn't even see Meiling for two years aside from the occasional visit. It made his upcoming departure for the sect bittersweet.
Before all that, however, he needed to get his sister a present for her birthday, which was on the eleventh of Leaf. So it was that he asked Xiaoli to show him around the shops of Xichang. The province's capital was close to the clan's ancestral home but a bit far from his family's estate, so he rarely visited. Xiaoli seemed happy for a change to her usual routine, swinging her legs during the whole carriage ride to the city and chatting up a storm about the latest book she'd recommended him.
"So, what kind of arts are you going to learn?" Xiaoli said as the carriage drew closer to the city. The familiar smell of the sea-salt breeze had begun to waft in through the windows.
He shrugged. "I don't know yet. I need to learn what's possible first, I suppose."
Xiaoli shook her head with an air of great disappointment. "Shaohuo, are you really saying you haven't thought about it at all? You must at least have an idea of what elements you want to focus on."
"Hmm. I guess wind can be useful for quite a few things. Gravity sounds interesting but I'm not sure how versatile it is." Shaohuo said.
"Obviously, fire and shadow are the most useful." Xiaoli said, nodding as though the argument was already settled. "With shadow, you can make sure no one sees you until you strike. Then with fire you can burn everything in one hit."
He shuddered. Xiaoli with fire was a scary thought indeed.
"Wouldn't the fire defeat the purpose of using stealth though?" Shaohuo said.
"You have a lot of to learn, Shaohuo. No one would know where the fire came from since they wouldn't be able to see you. They'd just waste time looking for the attacker while everything burned to a crisp." Xiaoli laughed, seeming to find the thought of things burning amusing.
Shaohuo was saved from that disturbing conversation as the carriage pulled up to the marketplace, which consisted of open-air stalls laid out in the town square. They got out and were followed by the guards. The sight, along with their fine clothes and signature auburn hair, caused the crowds of commoners to split to make ample space for them to walk through, whispering among themselves all the while. It was an uncomfortable feeling since he spent most of his time either at home or visiting other nobles. At least they probably wouldn't be recognized so easily once they joined the sect.
Xiaoli, on the other hand, seemed used to it. Her demeanor had changed now that they were out in public, walking with a smooth gait and her arms at her side, not swinging them as she would often do. She had also stopped talking as they toured the marketplace, her face schooled into a dignified expression that looked strange on her.
"Let's take a look over there," Xiaoli said quietly as they neared a stall selling weapons. Shaohuo nodded, hoping she was just window-shopping and not actually thinking of getting Meiling something from there. She wouldn't do that…right? The shopkeeper, seeing them arriving, shot up to his feet and hastily greeted them, bowing profusely.
"Welcome to my humble store," he said, his forehead visibly shiny with sweat. Shaohuo felt a bit sorry for the man. "Please let me know how I may be of assistance."
The store consisted of a few tables with weapons laid out on them, a fairly wide variety from knives to spears to axes and swords. Most were commoner's weapons, but there were a handful suitable for cultivators, enhanced with formations of qi-conductive materials. When infused with the right types of qi, the qi would flow along the pattern of the formation and cast an art, even for someone who didn't know how to perform that art on their own. Xiaoli was gazing longingly at one such sword, a seemingly ordinary jian. When Shaohuo looked closely at it, the blade shone where the steel of the blade shifted to the silver web-like pattern interwoven in it.
"You have a good eye, miss," the shopkeeper said, seeming to have composed himself by then. "That's my best sword. It's enhanced with earth arts for durability and sharpness. It barely needs any maintenance at all."
"How much is it?" Xiaoli asked.
"One thousand coppers."
Xiaoli bit her lip, furrowing her brow as she thought. Shaohuo doubted the price was the problem for her. She was probably thinking that her parents wouldn't let her keep it. Even if she hid it, the guards might report that she bought it. Perhaps he could get it for her, and keep it with him until they joined the sect? Unfortunately he only had about fifteen hundred copper coins' worth of allowance saved up. He'd have to think over the finances of it before deciding.
"Hey, why don't we check that bookstore over there?" Shaohuo pointed at it.
"Alright. I don't see anything I need here, anyway." Xiaoli said flippantly, though he wasn't fooled. Hopefully he'd be able to get her mind off of it. By the end of the day, Shaohuo had picked up a children's book for Meiling to read, and Xiaoli had bought a doll. A successful trip, for the most part.
Once again, it took quite a while to receive a reply, but after about a month Shaohuo had received a letter from the Honored Elder.
Dear Shaohuo,
I am glad to hear you are doing well. To answer your question, as you know, our province is quite fertile thanks to the four rivers that give it its name. The Four Rivers province is small, but prosperous, and its location means that our province doesn't suffer from barbarian raids as many of the border provinces do. This province was one of the first to join the empire during the unification of the Sage Emperor. Our clan ruled this land even then, making our clan one of the old families. When I was young, this land was mostly the same as it is now. The current emperor ascended to the throne when my grandfather was the governor, but as they say, the emperor may change but the Empire continues on as ever. In my years, the Empire has been at war many times, but thanks to the Heavens it has never directly touched our province. Of course, many of our clan and our subjects have served loyally in the imperial military. As far as differences go, I will say that in my youth steel was much more expensive than it is today, and books weren't as common. You should be thankful that you live in a time of peace and prosperity, for such times do not last forever.
Best Regards,
Elder Li Lee
"What does it say, Shao-Shao?" Meiling said, peering over his shoulder at the letter, which he folded up. She'd been reading in his room, having taken a liking to the novel he'd bought her, but apparently found spying on him more interesting.
"Nothing important. Just some history." Shaohuo said.
Meiling made a gagging noise. "Ew, why are you reading history? Those stories are really boring."
"It's important to know, Meiling. You should try it sometime. Besides, these stories are true."
"But that's why they're boring." Meiling stubbornly insisted. She really was too cheeky for her own good.
Every now and then Meiling would watch Shaohuo during his usual training sessions. She rarely had the patience to stick around for the whole thing, but since Father wasn't there for the harvest season and the guards weren't very good company, Shaohuo would occasionally stop to answer her questions or ask her about how things were going. Now that he was making the effort to talk to her more often, he learned a bit more about her friends. Shu was Suyin's younger sister, making her a fellow noble. Shaohuo had met her a few times before, but hadn't realized she and Meiling were so close. Meiling's other friend, Ling, was the daughter of his father's secretary.
"Meiling, what do you want to do when you grow up?" Shaohuo asked her one day during a break in his training session. It had come to mind just then that Meiling seemed interested in becoming a cultivator, from how she watched him train sometimes, yet unlike him or Xiaoli she didn't have a position waiting for her when she finished. Of course, she was still a bit young to be thinking about these things, but their parents probably already plans for her, whether for a political marriage or some kind of bureaucratic position. Somehow he doubted that Father would let her join the military.
"I want to work in the capital!" Meiling said, answering surprisingly quickly.
"Really? What do you want to do?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm going to be the princess's bodyguard, and go on lots of adventures just like daddy told me!" she said, grinning.
Shaohuo chuckled. "Are you sure? You don't want to work in one of the ministries or be a cultivation instructor or anything? You could even work with me once I take over for Father."
Meiling stared at him with eyes wide in disbelief. "That sounds so boring, Shao-Shao. Why would anyone do that?"
He laughed. "Good question. But then, which princess will you work for?"
"Uh…there's more than one?" Meiling said, tilting her head. Shaohuo laughed again, snorting. Well, she'd have plenty of time to think about it.
The days passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was Shaohuo's sixteenth birthday. When he woke up, the first thing he'd checked was to see if his Ghost Eyes had awoken yet, but he didn't notice anything different when he looked at other people. Still, it should happen sometime in the next few weeks.
His disappointment was soon brushed away by his father's birthday present. It was kept in a small wooden case, and when he opened it, he was confused at first. It was consisted of many cylindrical, wooden blocks strung on a linked metal chain with a spearhead attached to the end, almost like some kind of whip weapon.
"Thank you, Father. But what is this?" He'd asked.
His father smiled. "Ah, I know it doesn't look like much. But let me show you." He handed the whip to his father, who held up the chain by one end so that all the wooden blocks fell towards the spearhead, lining up together. Most of the chain was covered now, leaving only a bit at the end which ended with a metal loop. "First you do this, and then you channel earth qi into the chain's formation and then into the wood's formation."
Suddenly the wood blocks turned and lined up perfectly with one another, appearing more as a solid mass rather than individual blocks. Rather than a whip, it was an easily portable spear. Shaohuo had heard of spears like this, but since they were apparently a relatively recent innovation he hadn't seen one before. The classic portable spear design simply consisted of separate spearheads and wood poles with their own formations that would then lock together. Still convenient to carry, and they had the advantage of being easy to replace if one part broke, but not as portable as a chain that could be wrapped into a loop.
His father grinned and handed it him. Shaohuo gripped it and cautiously swung it around a few times, marveling at how it appeared as a solid mass now.
"Thank you, Father," he said, bowing. With this, he would be ready for whatever challenges the sect had for him.
Shaohuo's base stats at age 16:
Talent – 4
Qi: 1/1 (inaccessible)
HP: 10/10
Funds: 1,480 coppers (20 spent on the book)
Spear Mastery: 2/4 (Trained)
Diplomacy – 8/10
Knowledge – 7/10
Deception – 3/10 > 4/10 (+1 for managing to keep his surprise gift plans secret)
Intelligence – 9/10
Perception – 6
Martial – 4/10
Strength – 9
Defense – 5
Flexibility – 4
Balance – 3
Speed – 8
Stealth – 4
Stamina – 8
Does Shaohuo buy a sword for Xiaoli?
[X] Yes
[X] No
Does Shaohuo ask Elder Li Lee anything specific in his next letter?
[X] Write-in
[X] Nothing in particular, just keeping in touch.
A/N: A bit of a slow update, but I was able to get some world-building and character development in at least. Next update Shaohuo will get to start cultivating. Also, I added stats for funds and weapon masteries.
